Opinions on my engine problem
 

I got a '14 with a couple thousand km's on it (EFI) that's been having a problem. It's well within the warranty, and I'll be taking it to the dealer, but we have some language barrier. My wife isn't too good at translating engine vocab, so I'm hoping to head in there with some idea of what the prob might be.

I drove it into the mountains last week. It was quite a steep grade most the way. I'm about 240lb plus 20+ pounds of gear. It handled it no problem; just needed a bit more gas.

On the way back down I get this loud "ping" on the right side of the engine. Sounded like a little man inside there wacked it with a little sledgehammer.

I thought it was coming from the clutch, but maybe not. It happened again 20 min later. But no problem.

Later when I stopped and tried to restart, i heard a "clunk" coming from under the seat. And it didn't start. The second pull started it no problem. This happened again a couple hours later.

This "clunk" noise under the seat has happened several times since. The last time today I was in 4th or 5th and a car pulled out in front of me. I hit the brakes and swerved, downshifted and suddenly no power. The engine stalled. Pulled over and "clunk" when starting. Tried again and everything was fine.

Feels to me like something is just "off" inside the engine. And then it "resets" itself back to normal after said "clunk". It has felt funny since I switched to a 13T. But thought that was just natural.

Is it possible it has something to do with the timing? (Tensioner chain)

On a side note, I had the dealer swap the sprocket for me a few weeks back. ($6) but he did it in a way I've not seen recommended before. He removed the chain, (must have) kept it in gear, and used an impact gun. Came off instantly. I'm wondering if that could have messed up the gearbox some or screwed with the timing?

Any opinions are appreciated. Will take it in this weekend.

Thanks

You may want to take a look at my engine, symptoms include a large clunk on engine shutdown from idle or hitting the starter. It is about 1/2 the way down on page 2.
Your engine shutdown in 4 or 5th was probably caused by you stopping it by slamming on the rear brake and stopping the engine.


https://www.kawasakiforums.com/forum...s-41171/page2/

Any chance of you recording the noise the engine makes? That may help us isolate where to look. I would chastise the 'mechanic' for using the trans to hold the sprocket in place while he rattled off the nut-that puts a heavy strain on the teeth of the engaged gears. I usually leave the chain in place and stomp on the rear brake so that the chain will hold the sprocket-then you can zip it off with the impact.

Thanks, I'll mention this to him.

Do you think it's possible this could be the problem with such low mileage? In miles I'm prob around 1300.

I've got a new Contour cam. When the noise happens again hopefully it will catch it clearly enough.

I kinda gotta be easy on the mechanic; he's ultimately the one who decides if any future warranty claims fall within the warranty or not. "Quickest & Easiest method" usually trumps "Best method" in this part of the world unfortunately. :(

I,d be thinking your said mechanic caused some damage.
Have you checked for metal fragments in the oil at the drain plug? You might want to check oil filter too.
I'd also contact the dealer (Don't think I'd admit to them the method used to loosen and probably tighten the sprocket nut) and see what they say.

Mechanic is the dealer. :(

Not sure if that's good (he maybe broke it, he fixes it) or bad (doesn't want to admit maybe breaking it).

I changed the oil once since then. Didn't see any fragments; and I was looking. But haven't check the filter yet. It's possible whatever smacked the inside of the case was around there I suppose. But would have to had been a pretty darn large piece of metal.

Will see...

I just read that original post again.

Your mechanic would not have damaged anything with an air impact on the CS sprocket nut. The gear box is far tougher than that shock.

I am following with interest. I do the manual cam chain tensioners that a lot of riders here and around the world are using. I don't remember if I've posted to Taiwan, but I have done Singapore, Thailand, and about 50 other countries world wide. I am not recommending the tensioner replacement as a cure because of the loud clunking you're mentioning.

I will say doing the manual tensioner eliminates one variable, but I don't know if it will fix things. The problem is even a video may not help. You need to figure as closely as possible, where the noise is coming from. "Under the seat" is not sufficient, there is nothing under there that would make the noise. You have to listen carefully to the engine to figure where it is coming from. If it concentrates on the right in the cam drive, the tensioner might be the ticket. If it comes from the gear box there might be issues in there. Clutch cover, cam cover, starter... you see the value of listening carefully when the noise is present or possible to happen.

should you need the tensioner the kit is $60.75 including shipping to Taiwan. Few dealership mechanics will tell you it is an option, but I started using them when my two friends at a dealership who happen to be mechanics and racers mentioned the possibility when I had two tensioners in my KLX650 in less than 14,000 miles. I was not seeing sticking $75+ tensioner in my bike every 5000 miles. One of them mentioned that drag racers did manual tensioners, the other mentioned the old Yamaha 500 single had one as OEM - I had two SR500s and never knew that, no wonder they rattled like they did, I never adjusted them. Regardless, many 250 riders do the manual tensioner when there is rattle from the cam drive, usually around 4000-6000 rpm - that is why I cannot say a tensioner is a cure for your issues, just that it might eliminate a variable.

I wouldn't believe that the cam chain tension is your problem.

Could the "ping" have been a rock hitting the frame or engine?
And could the "clunk" be the starter relay? Only thing under the seat that could do that...I think.
I would pull the seat and check all electrical connections are tight.
It couldn't hurt to check all the other bolts why you are at it.
When my starter button was failing, I would sometimes hit the button and get a "clunk" from the relay. Hit it again from a slightly different angle and it would fire.